Life Becomes More Complicated, a column authored by Attorney Michael Hooker is a wealth of information. He covers everything from living wills to nursing home costs. We are happy to provide copies of his articles here.
Estate planning: You need the three basic documents: Will, Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy. The Power of Attorney is often more important than the Will. It gives power over your finances in the event you are disabled. It avoids cumbersome and expensive conservatorships.
If you have read my prior columns you know that there are three essential documents a person for the bare minimum estate plan: a will, a power of attorney and a health care proxy.
It is impossible for me to advise you in one pithy legal column on all the legal and financial issues you should worry about. I will try, however, having reviewed several years’ worth of past columns of mine.
There are several recent elder law developments. I will address two today: 1) simpler probate rules 2) long term insurance protection against Medicaid estate recovery.
